The first couple floors were about as I expected at the beginning of a dungeon. One thing to point out first was that we came across a conspicuously large hole on the ground early-on. From what Rizz told me, these holes would occasionally pop up in random spots and floors in the dungeon. There were some cases when they’d appear right below someone’s feet before they drop down suddenly, and it closes immediately. They call these Trap Holes from how they appeared below people on purpose, as if the dungeon was alive and did this out of a cruel prank that could lead them to their death. There’s apparently a disposable item you can use that makes one for you at an instant. In either case, you go down these holes, you skip several floors down the dungeon, and there’s no telling how far you’d go. The unknown of how far one would go down, especially if they were still a rookie, is part of what makes these dungeons dangerous. Since the monsters get stronger as you go further below the surface, if someone dropped right into a horde of strong monsters, they could be done for.
Oddly enough, when I asked Rizz if anyone died from falling through enough floors, the other demons around us poorly hid their amusement. The Werebear furrowed a brow at them in annoyance, but when she turned back to me, she only said “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” I wasn’t sure if it was because of me being the only human in the line that those other demons didn’t think much of me, or why Rizz couldn’t explain I didn’t have to worry right before it was time for us to separate. Nyra confirmed for Rizz that I would be safe when I asked her, though, based on the memories of those she previously possessed, but like the other demons around us, she also snickered mischievously. I didn’t know what it was that’s so funny, but even if what Nyra said was true, I wasn’t going to take any chances with these holes.
For me, just the thought of falling from such heights made my chest tighten. Yes, I have my stupidly high defenses that could break my fall, but that didn’t help ease the trauma-level reactions from my acrophobia. My body would freeze up and I’d have difficulty breathing if I looked down from a high enough place. When things get really bad, my body would just shut down and I’d faint on the spot. I know it’s pathetic, but that’s how my body reacted every time I’m high above ground. I couldn’t control it if I wanted to, and I have no idea why I even have this phobia to begin with.
That said, there was no way I would willingly fall down these holes. When my familiars sensed my anxiety, I tried to brush it off and advised we don’t fall through these holes in the future. I’m not one that usually bosses people around, but I was thankful my familiars would follow practically any order I give them in this case without questioning. So, we just ran our way through, taking stairs that would take us to the next floor down. We either took out monsters that attacked us along the way or ran past them, just to see how far we can go in a short time.
As for the monsters that reside in the dungeon, they weren’t weak, but maybe it’s because this dungeon is in the Demon-Kin’s Territory that monsters of this level would be considered as such for the local adventurers. I was still many levels ahead to take them out without a hitch and they were practically a breeze for my familiars while in their cub forms. I was surprised my ‘ability that repels weak monsters’ ability wasn’t kicking in for these guys to keep their distance from me, though. Maybe there are areas like dungeons where abilities like mine weren’t effective? While that much wasn’t hard to figure out, it wasn’t until we got to the fifth floor after subjugating numerous waves of monsters that we felt something was off.
“Aren’t these weak monsters leaving quite a bit of drops?” Kenaka asked, “If I recall, the ones Milord’s servants took down yesterday on our way here didn’t even leave one, yes?”
“Indeed, I can confirm that since I was there observing them from afar,” Mametama answered before looking over the recent monster corpses, “Here, not only has every monster left drops after being defeated, but there is more money, and the items left behind are higher in rarity and value. I do not recall monsters in dungeons being more likely to leave drops than those in the field either.”
In this world, the monsters’ drops appear after winning a battle by transforming their bodies into money or items. Sometimes it’s the entire body, other times it’s an arm, leg, or head that’s transformed while leaving the rest of the body behind for adventurers to disassemble and turn in as materials. These drops, from what I had heard, happen at random, and it usually gives you more than the market price monster materials are sold. The chances of these drops happening rise depending on the LUCK of the victors who won by themselves. For groups winning a battle, though, nobody knows whether that LUCK is the total of everyone’s together or something else.
Just as Mametama confirmed that I also saw for myself with the [Shared Sight] skill, there weren't any drops that appeared after Ren, Erizora, and Kalline took care of those wolves on the road yesterday. Aside from Mametama appraising those monsters, neither of us participated in that battle in any way back then. Here, both of my familiars were the ones who did the work while I didn’t lift a finger, yet money and items appeared from every defeated monster in the area.
I looked down with a hand to my chin, pondering, “Wait, does that have to do with—”
Everything in my surroundings slowed down as I felt a hostile force directed at me. I quickly turned to the direction of the source and caught what my [Size Up] skill identified as a ‘Red Tigerbat’ in my sights, flying my way in slow motion. It was an attempted ambush from within 2 meters [~6.6 feet], but with skills enhancing my senses and reflexes, I was able to react far quicker.
“Milord, watch—!” Mametama screamed in panic, but I had already aimed my palm up toward my assaulter.
With a near instant chant in my mind, a fireball just bigger than my ambusher shot from my hand. My [Pyreball] spell collided with the monster before it was completely engulfed with flames.
“GYAAAAAAAUGH!” the monster screamed in agony, falling to the ground as its body was burning to a crisp, including the vocal cords that silenced its cries within seconds. It didn’t even have a chance to struggle and writhe for dear life before it became motionless. With my [Size Up] skill, I saw its HP bar was empty, and the flames that scorched the monster’s body were snuffed out like a candle. It was now black and hard like charcoal as the body was stuck in an offensive pose, its face twisted and crumbling in an expression of pain and horror.
Once the victory track rang in my mind, the area went silent.
“… Out?” Mametama finished her earlier warning with confusion.
Kenaka guffawed and fell on his butt before clapping his paws. Seeing him like that in his cub form made the sight a little adorable, “Magnificent, Milord! A fine display of power and dominance! That whelp should be grateful of you giving it a quick death with mercy!”
“… And that was a Special Monster, too. Milord’s power is something, indeed,” Mametama added.
I wasn’t sure what it was that I intended to happen, because I didn’t think my magic would be that effective in wiping a monster out so quickly. Sure, I changed my classes to be more magic-focused before I got here, my [Fire Magic] skill level was up there, and [Pyreball] was at a level of its own, but I was slightly intimidated by how all that stacked up to create something like that. I was using the bare minimum of MP required to cast it, too. This just proved how careful I should be when casting magic from now on, at least until I find some place where I can openly test it without restraint and not worry about damaging anything; otherwise, this could blow out of proportion very fast.
Going back to the Special Monster, it would be hopeless to find anything from its remains to scavenge and sell to the guild by itself. With its current condition, I wondered if I could at least sell it off as kindling. I wasn’t even sure if the monster’s magic crystal was still intact.
Just as I was about to crouch down and check that, though, the charred corpse glowed a brilliant light before it shrunk and condensed down to a round-shaped object. When the light dimmed, a thick coin that was bigger than a 500 yen one, made of gold with a blue star engraved in it took the late Special Monster’s place.
Kenaka and I flinched and covered our ears from not just Mametama’s, but Nyra’s high-pitched squeal as well. Our efforts were hopeless, however, as this noise rang in our heads through shared [Telepathy.]
A highly ecstatic exchange between the girls of our group began, starting with Mametama,
Kenaka explained,
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Holy shit … I thought. Considering Raiza’s time lasts longer than Earth’s, if this was used back home, it might last twice as long in place of electricity.
Kenaka nodded,
I blanked out, blinking my eyes in confusion, <… Excuse me?>
Kenaka then tried to stand on his hind legs with paws up, keeping himself balanced, but seeing him like that as a cub was just plain adorable,
I then turned to my cougar cub familiar and squatted down,
Suddenly being put on the spot, Mametama got a little self-conscious,
With a flick of my thumb, I flipped the medallion in the air. I then remembered too late why I don’t usually base on some decisions with this method, as the flick was too hard to send the medal ricocheting between the stalactites and pillars in the dungeon. We had to get down on the ground to avoid getting hit until the medal finally slammed into the ground in a dust cloud.
<… Does this sort of thing happen often, Milord?> Kenaka asked in [Telepathy], peeking up from under his paws.
I scratched my head in shame and embarrassment,
We checked to see the result of my insane ‘coin flip,’ only to see half of the medal was digging into the ground. It was set in an angle that revealed the red side was mostly facing up, though. I glanced over to Mametama, only to see her looking disheartened.
Both my familiars looked at me in shock.
<… Before I even came across Nyra, I was an unlucky guy,> I said while gazing at the medal, Kenaka waved a paw, Mametama huffed through her nose, I pulled Nyra out of her sheathe, I nodded, I recalled last night, when Ume and I came across the secret message in the fliers of the Demon King’s decree. For some reason, because she ‘found me,’ she called off the Champion Hunt that would reward demons who’d bring one. There could be several reasons why and how she found me, as I had been attracting a lot of attention not even a week after I was sent to this world. Even so, now that I had caught her attention, I needed to keep the number of people who know the extent of my powers to a minimum, at least until I see her in person. In the meantime, she could have sent a spy or two to watch my movements, and who knows what they would do with the information they could find about me. Only Nyra, Ume, and I were aware of these circumstances, but other than maybe my familiars, I’m not sure how big of a risk it is to fill the others in on this news, even if it was done through my [Telepathy] skill. Hell, the chunk of memories that were implanted in Nyra could be a sign of the Demon King’s involvement for whatever reason. I’d need to take these and other accounts into consideration for a while. I explained a summarized version of these reasons to my familiars, along with what Ume, Nyra, and I found in the flyers last night. Kenaka answered. I thought for a moment, “Come at me, foolish weaklings!” Kenaka taunted aloud. “Ohh … I do not know whether to partake or dread this moment,” Mametama added. Thus, with the limited time we had, our dungeon trial run/training session turned into a Special Monster farming event.